right now, the national cathedral is filled with people who loved and rchted sports anchor george michael. a memorial service is set to begin right now for long-time member of the nbc 4 family. former presidential candidate john edwards finally confirms he is the father of a baby born to a woman he admits to having an affair with. that child is now nearly 2 years old. it could get messy on the roads and winter weather heads this way. rain, sleet and snow are all in the forecast. "news4 midday" begins right now. good morning, everyone. welcome to "news4 midday." i'm barbara harrison. it is thursday, january 21st, 2010. he died on christmas eve.

and we're still struggling to say good-bye. george michael, the man who brought us the sports machine, the man to changed broadcasting forest. he was loud and exciting, a visionary and a pioneer. news4's megan mcgrath joins us live from the washington national cathedral where our friend and colleague is being remembered this morning. megan? >> reporter: good morning, barbara. everyone is basically moved into the cathedral right now. any moment now the memorial is going to begin. it is expected to be a very personal memorial. just a handful of speakers. a little while ago family members arrived herate at the cathedral, as well as some of his closest friends, among them joe gibbs and sonny jeen son and everyone here to play tribute to george michael and his legacy. george michael is a member of our news4 family for nearly 28, but he was so ch more than that. he was a huge innovator through his sports casts and his

syndicated television show, "the sports machine," george changed the way local news was covered and he was just an innovator in that field. his use of game highlights from around the country revolutionized local sports reporting and he took it way beyond the coverage of just the local teams. he really stepped it up a notch. that's how many people will be remembering him here today. now we spoke to some of george's friends and colleagues, including the former voice of the senators. here's how they are going to remember george. >> a personality and the knowledge that most sports casters don't have. >> having sat next to him on television, george was someone who never let you look bad. i'm not a big sports person. he was such a good showman that he brought you into the act and propped you up and made everyone looked good. but the one thing i think about

now, in the change in our industry now, george was the last of the mohicans. >> he was a great character. he was really a nice, nice gentleman. and we will miss him because we keep looking for him on tv and he's not there. it's hard to believe he's gone. >> reporter: it is hard to believe he's gone. the last two ladies that you saw, adean smith and her sister nadine smith, they were the rabid redskin fan winners to one of george's contest. they kept in touch with him over the years and wanted to be here today to say a final farewell. but we're hearing the bell toll here at the national cathedral. the memorial service expected to get under way any time now. really just a handful of people are going to be speaking, including his daughter, as well as our own jim vance and joe gibbs. we're not expecting this to be a long memorial but certainly a poignant one, a man who cannot be forgotten, both professional,

barbara, as you know, also on a personal level. if you came in contact with george michael, h is not a man that you can forget or not take notice of. he really w a force on so many different levels, professional, personally. just a huge character and huge figure here in washington. >> we have been one big family here and he certainly was one of the biggest members. we miss him very much every day. thank you. we'll be back to you later in the program. remembering george michael. we will honor our friend and colleague throughout the day. he was 70 years old. moving on, get ready for a wintry mix out there. you can see a little bit of rain, sleet, snow for the next day. right now it looks pretty clear outside but tom says it is going to change. let's go to him now for a little look at what we canexpect. >> we've got great weather for george's memorial service. he wouldn't expect anything less from me. loved george michael. he elevated, lifted all of us. his professionalism, his

attention to detail and accuracy helped us all b better. well, this morning as we look around the region, we don't have any precipitation here. we've got sunshine now in washington. 39 degrees. mid and upper 30s in prince george's, montgomery, fairfax and arlington counties. it is above freezing in much of the region. but the shenandoah valley is under a winter storm warning there. winter storm watch farther to the north there. those are the areas that will get the bigger impacts and heavier precipitation amounts from this storm. roanoke, no precipitation there yet. their temperature is 34 but the key thing, the dew point's 28. as soon as the precipitation begins it will drop below freezing and begin to cause icing. low 40s on the eastern shore. precipitation is now beginning to move into far southwestern virginia so increasing clouds and chilly the rest of the afternoon with highs reaching the low 40s. details on this wintry mix,

how much we mht get around the metro area and a look at the entire region into the weekend in just a few minutes. >> thank you, tom. steve has an update now on the midday traffic. >> thanks. there have been two accidents on the outer loop of the beltway between springfield and the wilson bridge. before dell graph road with only one right lane is getting by. very difficult ride now. if you use springfield continue on the outer loop of the beltway toward the wilson bridge. over to maryland we had a report of a vehicle fire out of camera range on the outer loop hampshire avenue but there are really no delays right now. still moving smoothly from college park around to silver spring. over to springfield, not too bad on north and southbound 95. they are back doing road work on southbound 95. south of newington blocking that

one right lane. >> talk to you later. now to the latest out of haiti where much of the focus is now on treating earthquake victims in desperate need of medical attention. usns kwfcomfort has arrived in haiti. the head of the world food program is also expected to arrive in haiti to assess the crisis. governments from around the world have pledged close to $1 billion in aid. president obama and first lady michelle obama have donated $15,000 from their personal bank account to help earthquake victi victims. even today more than a week after the quake struck, search and rescue crews are still searching for survivors buried beneath the rubble. news4's derek ward joins us now with more on those efforts. >> reporter: much needed help has arrived from around the world and mo is on the way to haiti. rescuers there are in a race against time to save the living from the rubble in the wake of that devastating earthquake. estimates of the death toll

remain remark pli high, upwards of 200,000 people, 1,500,000 without shelter. the u.s. has contributed some $130 million worth of assistance according to the u.s. agency for organization development, that in addition to the services of more than 12,000 people, military an civilian, medical and otherwise. plus ships an helicopters. u.s. secretary of defense robert gates poke to the frustration and realities of assisting where the need is so critical and so great. >> as long as more than 2 million people in haiti are still struggling to get food and water, fuel and medical care, it would probably be a mistake for anyone to say they're satfied with the level of effort. that said, it is hard for me to see what more the united states

could make available, or how we could make it available faster. >> pledges of aid to haiti have almost totalled a billion. more than $500 million is coming from the nations that make up the european union. space is being prepared at the u.s. facility at guantanamo bay in cuba should there be a sea born exodus of haitians. some of the world's biggest stars are coming together to raise money for the earthquake victims. tomorrow night, hope for haiti, a telethon, is great opportunity for you to learn more about how to help the people of haiti. there are startling allegations this morning at a tress teejous school here in the district. a teacher at sidwell friends has been fired and charged with child sexual abuse. until this year he taught seventh and oid graeighth grade

studies. according to the "washington post" peterson was charged in two separate incidents involving a minor both in montgomery and queen ne's county. not clear if it is the same rick tim in both cases. in other news, his sister, his brother-in-law, three teenagers and a 4-year-old boy are among the eight people a man is accused of killing in central virginia. police say 39-year-old christopher speight murdered them on tuesday afternoon in appomattox. >> i seen the body to the left. i called 911. >> while she was calling i walked out and kept on saying, sir, are you all right, sir, are you all right? >> he had a hood on and the hood was full of blood. >> police haven't released a motive but speight was reportedly worried that his sister and brother-in-law were going to throw him out of the house. police say speight surrendered yesterday morning after spending

the night in the woods. authorities spent last night detonating bombs they say he planted around the murder scene. an incredible accident in prince george's county. a huge power tower came crashing down right on top of a dump truck. this all happened yesterday afternoon on phyllis wheatley boulevard. chopper 4 was above the scene as crews cleaned up this morning. authorities say the truck somehow veered into the high tension power line bringing it down. the driver did manage to escape. he was taken to the hospital for observation. drivers in virginia will soon be able to pull off to -- off the interstate to a rest stop again. virginia transportation board voted yesterday to re-open 19 rest stops across the commonwealth. they were closed last year to save money by then-governor tim kaine. new governor bob mcdonald promised the reopenings during his campaign. first rest stops will begin re-opening next month. all 19 will open by mid-april.

11:11 is the time. he has limbed his publited appearances. former senator john edwards comes clean, this time to the baby born to a woman he had an affair with. hundreds of homes are evacuated as heavy rains sends mud into the streets of parts of california. and it is a done deal. conan o'brien will soon say good-bye to the tonight show.

today u.s. defense secretary robert gates made a surprise trip to pakistan overnight but he was seeing discouraging news as soon as he got there. gates was hoping to urge pakistan to broaden its offensive near the afghan border because militants had been crossing over and attacking u.s. troops. but pakistani army leaders told gates they can't launch any new offensives for six months to a year. they need that time to stabilize gains made during the recent offense. gates is expected to meet with u.s. military leaders today to discuss the u.s. war strategy in afghanistan. well, he might be the democrat's health care spoiler. just minutes ago the newest senator from massachusetts started making the rounds on capitol hill. republican scott brown won the election to succeed the late ted kennedy. today brown is making courtesy calls, visiting his new colleagues, starting with senator john mccain. brown is the 41st gop senator. that means the democrats have

lost their filibuster-proof majority. they needed it to pass health care refo. >> i think everybody's the 41st right now. i don't think it is just republicans. there is a sense not only in massachusetts but the rest of the country that the lack of traine parncy and lack of shoveling problems is old. they want to us get on to the people's business. >> it is still unclear when brown will actually be sworn in. gormer democratic presidential candidate john edwards is finally admitting to fathering a child with another woman. edwards originally denied fathering that child during his affair with rielle hunter, a videographer he hired during this campaign. in a statement released to the associated press today edwards admitted that he was quinn hunter's father. a former edwards aide initially leaked the information back in 2008. he's scheduled to release a book on february 2nd that details the whole scandal.

now to a developing story from the west coast. yet another pacific storm is pounding california with heavy rain and snow. thousands of people have already lost power. now hillside residents in l.a. are being told to evacuate ahead of possible mudslides. gina kim has the very latest. >> reporter: nearly 1,000 families have been ordered to evacuate the los angeles foothill communities around pasadena where l.a. county's worst fire on record ripped through the hillsides a few months ago leaving them dangerously vulnerable to mudslides. after and during three days of unrelenting rain, many families agreed to go, but some long-time residents refused to budge. >> how am i going to pack, go and come back? your whole life's at a standstill. >> reporter: california's only half-way through an unusual weather week that's already seen three back-to-back storms. the non-stop downpours have officials in pacifica, northern california saying it is only a matter of time before erosion

streams down this cliff side apartment building. in fresno, saturated grounds and fierce winds threw giant trees across streets and homes, while drivers in san jose suffered a nightmarish commute when a river flowing across the 101 freeway shut down both directions of the major thoroughfare. residents in the santa cruz mountains kept their eye on a gorged ever-rising river. >> i'd say in a half-hour it went from 14 feet to 17 1/2. >> reporter: meanwhile, it was snow that wreaked hfk on interstate 80 outside sacramento and partially shut down the 5 freeway in north los angeles. with yet another massive storm expected today, the bad could get worse before the week is over. gina kim, nbc news, los angeles. it is beginning to sound like we're going to have our own share of problems with the weather soon. >> tonight, moisture coming in. one of those pafk storms that

hit california a couple days ago is going to arrive here later on tonight. tomorrow morning we may have school delays. we'll start at 4:30 tomorrow morning a half-hour usual to get you an early start on what could be a day with school delays tomorrow morning. between now and sunset, no travel problems around the region. at this hour as we look at our sky over washington, we have some sunshine. there is the national cathedral where the george michael memorial is under way at this time. we do have that sunshine under this sky that is becoming increasingly cloudy now especially from the south. right now at reagan national airport the temperature is up to 39. january precipitation so far in washington -- a measly 1 inch of snow. the january average is about 6 inches or so and we might add another inch on top of this after we get through this next storm overnight tonight, into tomorrow. as we look at our radar we have no precipitation around the region now. you should not have any travel problems. if you plan on traveling pretty

much anywhere in the region, should not have any difficulties. it is all dry now. temperatures from the mid to upper therts from near the chesapeake day to southern maryland, prince george's county, arlington, fairfax counties mid 30s. shenandoah valley's probably going to be feeling the biggest effects from this storm in the quite of quite a bit of icing. could be power outages there. they have a winter storm watch up for the northern part of the shenandoah valley, panhandle of virginia. central shenandoah valley down to west virginia, it is a winter storm warning. that means the storm is going to arrive earlier there. blacksburg, virginia, where virginia tech is located, only 28 degrees right now. when that precipitation begins it is going to begin to ice up. roanoke, it is only 34. couple of degrees above freezing. as soon as the precipitation starts, probably another three or four hours it will begin to ice up there and slowly move its way up the valley.

locally temperatures on the eastern shore 40 degrees. out of the mountains as well. the leading edge of this precipitation is already into southwestern virginia and western north carolina, and it will be advancing off to the north and east as we get into the afternoon and evening hours. the wider view shows a lot of moisture in georgia, alabama, mississippi, up into tennessee. all this associated with a developing area of low pressure. the remnant low from that storm that came in to the pacific, off the pacific and into the california central foothills. that low tracked all the way across the country. weakened a bit, but as it gets off the coast, by tomorrow, during the afternoon and evening it will intensify a bit, then pull out to sea. but by tomorrow morning, friday, 8:00 in the morning, this is what the map may look like. this area of white is snow. the area of pink is sleet and snow. little bit of freezing rain farther to our west because we have cold air locked in place here that's going to keep that moisture in the form of wintry precipitation. then we'll dry out as we get into friday afternoon and evening. we'll see the clouds breaking

up. saturday morning, cold air right on us but we'll have some sunshine around. then the cold air will exit as we get into the end of the weekend. so for the rest of this afternoon, we'll have temperatures climbing to the low 40s. we'll have increasing clouds. then that precipitation begins tonight around the metro area, perhaps around 8:00 or so in the form of some snow and sleet and will continu off and on, just light amounts, all the way overnight and into the pre-dawn hours tomorrow. washington, about an inch of snow and sleet, mixed with rain from time to time. that's going to be mostly all rain in southern maryland, around the bay. then farther west and north, two to four inches of snow and sleet. that dark blue zone is the shenandoah valley and high lands of west virginia where they could get a quarter-inch of ice along with a couple inches of snow, may cause some power outages there. all coming to an end by late tomorrow afternoon. sun back on saturday. could get moderate to heavy rain on sunday and into perhaps sunday night and monday morning, then drying out monday afternoon. weather looks settled as we get

into next week. but tomorrow morning we start at 4:30. get you started bright and early. could have some school delays. >> and a lot of traffic problems obviously. but not so many right now, i don't think. steve, what's going on on the roads right now? >> we have a few things to show you. we have a map here of an accident that occurred just a few minutes ago along the outer loop of the beltway up from route 50 towards college park. it happened after the exit from the baltimore-washington parkway. looks like a car took out a light pole there. the two right lanes are blocked on the outer loop of the beltway after the baltimore-washington parkway. could be a while until that's completely cleared up because they have to do some utility work there as well. a tractor-trailer stopped there on the shoulder after the ramp but nobody seems too interested and traffic moving pretty well there. over to springfield now, still looks pretty good on the right side of your screen. southbound 95 heading down south of springfield just beyond camera range they set up a work zone block being the right lane but just a brief delay.

no traffic in the hovs which moans they're getting ready to start heading into southbound. back to you. >> thank you, steve. our time, 11:23. still ahead on "news4 midday," conan obrins plans his exit from the tonight show. plus, why exercise is good for your mind, not just your body. a new chance to get lucky. we'll tell you about some lottery changes. first, here's what's hot on nbcwashington.com.

torrow night will be the last tonight snow hosted by conan o'brien. nbc has confirmed that it has reached an agreement with conan that allows him to leave the network. an official announcement is expected later today. the deal will reportedly pay conan more than $33 million. his feud with nbc began when the company asked him to move the "tonight show" back to 12:05 and allowed jay leno to host a show at 11:35. the network says it thought the move would actually benefit conan. >> we have to remember that conan was on here for eight months, five nights a week. we had a lot of time to get a lot of information on his performance, and so at the end of the day we thought moving the show back to 12:05 which is what

we asked conan to do in this era where most people are watching those programs online or through different means anyway, we thought that it wouldn't have -- we thought actually two beneficial to conan, we thought he would have a stronger lead-in with jay. >> jay leno will return to hosting the "tonight show" on march 1st. good news for all of you lucky people out there. the mega millions lottery is coming to d.c. and the powerball is going to virginia. people will be able to purchase tickets for mega millions in the district starting january 31st. d.c. will also keep its current powerball game. in virginia you can start buying powerball tickets on january 31st as well. virginia will also keep its mega millions game. our time is now 11:28. coming up in the next half-hour of "news4 midday," president obama is focused on the economy today. in a few minutes he's expected to announce tough new regulations for big banks. also coming up, the latest from heart where authorities now say 2 million people are

homeless. and a warning for anyone who uses the wnod trail. police say a flasher is on the loose out there. tom kierein is also back with the latest on the winter weather headed our direction. stay with us.

right now we are remembering george michael. a memorial service is now under way at the national cathedral. george was our friend and our colleague and a television

giant. george's contribution to broadcasting cannot be overstated. he brought us "the sports machine," he changed the way we cover sports forever setting the stage for the likes of espn. former redskins coach joe gibbs is among today's speaker at the service. george michael died on christmas eve after a battle with leukemia. he was 70 years old. now moving on, the latest on haiti now where the estimated death toll remains 200,000 after last week's earthquake. aid is pouring in to that country but as michelle co-sin zi reports, getting that aid to the people who need it the most can be more difficult than you might think. >> reporter: it is a capital city struggling for even a glimpse of normal life. people sleeping in the streets, looking for food, vying for fuel, and waiting for water. it is mostly a patient process.

even generous, though at times desperation wins out. but each day still brings surprises, even more than a week after the quake, the rescues continue. while new lives begin in fields clinics finally starting to receive desperately needed supplies, the giant navy ship "comfort" has arrived, the difference between life and death for 250,000 injured people here. this man's hoping he can work in construction clearing away what the quake destroyed in less than a minute to rebuild his country. a world away, rebuilding has already begun. in washington state, this family waited in agony for their two adopted children still in haiti. they told their storyn "today"

last week. >> so what went through your mind when you heard about this earthquake? >> well, fear. and very just a lot of turmoil. >> reporter: brett went to haiti himself and found the 6-year-old and 8-year-old. this morning, their family is together in their new home, safe and sound. michelle kosins skchki news, port-au-prince. a silver spring man is one of the lucky ones who survived for more than two days. he was trapped in the wreckage of the montana hotel in port-au-prince for 50 years. he says the first rescuers that responded to his screams left an never came back. santos described the space he shared with at least five other people as being smaller than his living room. >> this was bigger than what the space was. then we were -- it was three foot high so if i was sitting up -- oh, goodness, it would be

about just -- that feeling was just a little bit above my head. >> s santos survived without any food or water for two days, eventually rescued by firefighters from france. helping the haitian people will help you when you file your taxes this year. the house passed a bill yesterday that allows americans to write off charitable deductions to the earthquake victims when they file their 2009 taxes this spring. the senate is expected to pass the bill. the legislation allows donations made by the end of february to be deducted from 2009 returns. 11:35 is the time right now. time to take another look at our weather. tom kierein's in storm center 4. >> we've had sun around this morning. temperatures around the region, near freezing. 40s in washington. upper 30s in prince george's county. mid 30s shenandoah valley, blue ridge. southern maryland, chesapeake bay, eastern shore, upper 30s.

winter storm watch northern shenandoah valley, panhandle of west virginia. that means the storm will be coming up later. that warning zone, the central and southern shenandoah valley. some precipitation should arrive there before sunset. roanoke's at 34 right now. dew point 28. when the precipitation begins it will drop toward the dew point then cause some freezing rain. looks like it will be freezing rain there for the southern shenandoah valley. may mix wh snow and elsewhere some snow and sleet and right now temperatures though are near 40 eastern shore. leading edge of the precipitation now into the carolinas, southwestern virginia and southern west virginia. that will be arriving into the shenandoah valley as the afternoon progresses. we'll have increasing clouds here with highs reaching the low 40s. the wintry mix arrives into the metro area perhaps around 8:00 this evening, continuing light snow, maybe some light sleet from time to time around the metro area all the way until the morning hours tomorrow.

total amounts though only about an inch of snow and sleet around washington because we might have some rain mixing in. clearly it will be all rain lower bay and lower eastern shore, snow and sleet farther west and north may accumulate two to four inches. white zone. dark blue zone shenandoah valley, quarter-inch of ice and a quarter-inch of snow. maybe a little sun before sunset tomorrow. sunny friday, clouds sunday. could get mod rad to heavy rain sunday afternoon and evening and monday morning it will end with settled weather much of next week. if we do get even the smallest amount of snow here in the district, mayor adrian fenty is assuring people that the roads will be clear. >> we always do a couple things. all pretreat the roads, always make sure we've got all the salt ready to go. i'll get a further briefin today and we will send that out to the media probably do some type of trucks on the road. how many, too early to tell right mao.

>> mayor fenty re-assured us all of the road treating would take place before any snow starts to fall. a final check on our midday traffic right now. steve, how's it looking? >> not too bad. we'll start with a map again. we have some road work that's going on as you head from virginia on eastbound 66 across the roosevelt bridge on to constitution avenue. as soo as you get over to the district side your 23rd street northwest you'll lose the two right lanes because they are doing road work there. slow across the roosevelt bridge to get into town. once you do, you are free and clear. that's right on constitution avenue, 23rd street. springfield still right now still not seeing delays in the southbound direction even though the hov lanes aren't ope yet to the southbound side. there's that road work again south of newington in the right lane. we'll take you over to the george washington parkway which is moving nicely in both directions. back to you. >> thank you. that virginia couple accused of crashing a white house state dinner refused to speak to

lawmakers about what happened. >> on advice of counsel i respectfully assert my right to remain silent and answer your question. >> that was 1 of the32 times the salahis asserted their right against self-incrimination. lawmakers were not amused by yesterday's testimony. >> i'm saddened, i'm disappointed, and i'm outraged and i would ask you to check your patriotismnd to find out why you had to do something of that level. >> prosecutors are still deciding whether to charge the salahis in this case. the salahis said they would be willing to return and testify after a criminal investigation is finished. the wife and daughter of john mccain are speaking out in favor of gay marriage. cindy and megan mccain posed for photos that endorse same-sex marriage. both appeared with the slogan "no h-8" on them.

that's the name of the gay rights group that opposed proposition 8, a ballot measure passed in california in 2008 that bans gay marriage. john mccain's office says the arizona republican and former presidential nominee respects the views of his family, but he still opposes same-sex marriage. it is a news4 exclusive. we're learning new details about a shoplifting suspect who died after an arlington police officer used a taser on him. the suspect's father says his son had stolen a bar of soap and a pair of clippers from a drugstore sunday night. officers found the suspect in the pentagon city metro station. police say he disobeyed officers an struggled with one of them and that's when the taser was used. his father says his son spent 15 years in and out of jail and he was living in a homeless shelter and struggling with kidney disease. >> it's wrong to take. it's not yours to take.

he was just high. he wanted some help. >> it is still unclear what the taze her to do with the death. the autopsy report has not been released yet. a warning to women in the arlington area. police say someone's been flashing women along a popular jogging trail. police say the man exposed himself at least five times last week along the wnod trail. according to officer, the flasher stands by the se of the trail without any pants on. they say he even used a flashlight to draw attention to himself at least one time. police are urging anyone who uses the trail to use a cell phone to report the flash fer they see him. metro is facing a $40 million budget hole but it is still spending big bucks on an advertising campaign. the agency's spending $739,000 to advertise metro bus. the ad campaign slogan is "the new metro bruus.

see how far we've come." metro has rolled out new buses but ridership has been slumping lately. in news4 for health this morning, n incenves to keep your resolution to exercise. researchers found mice did better on memory tests when they were able to run on exercise wheels than mice who weren't running on those wheels. research also found mice grew new brain cells in the area of their brains that are most important to memory and learning. people doing these tests believe these results would be the same in humans. our time, 11:42. still ahead on "news4 midday," before today's opening bell on wall street the labor department released weekly jobless claims. the latest on the midday markets. president obama gets tough on big banks. right now he's announcing new government rules at this very moment. stay with us, we'll be right back.

the president is speaking right now on financial reform and the economy. president obama is expected to call for new powers for the government to limit the size and risks large financial institutions can take. today's announcement is expected to get bipartisan support. with more on the president's speech, let's check in now with cnbc's courtney reagan. she joins us live with that and the rest of the day's headlines. >> reporter: good morning. stocks right now sharply lower. i'm looking now to see the dow down 215 points. really pulled off 100 points almost within the last hour.

it was already down 100. that's after what we saw yesterday when we saw the sell-off spur by disappointing earnings from bank of america and morgan stanley. also china restricting lending by banks raising concerns china's economic growth may slow. that in turn would hurt the global recovery so asian markets were mixed overnight. europe has turned higher. first-time claims for jobless benefits this morning jumped by 36,000 last week to 482,000. that's a shame because economists had expected a slight drop. goldman sachs though, blockbuster earnings. earned $8.20 a share for its latest quarter. that's a full $3 above wall street's estimates. that was good news. but a lot of it being overshadowed by wt's going on today with the president. president obama wants to keep big banks on a shorter leash. he's just finished an announcement moments ago. he's proposing new rules that would limit the size and scope of bank activities. the aimo deter banks from becoming so large that they put

the broader economy at risk. the restrictions include prohibiting commercial banks from using customer deposits and borrowed money for risky investments. as you can imagine, this has been brought about by strong opposition to there are some people agree, many that disagree right now to the proposal that the president's just brought to the table. to totally swish gears, the site of the next month's olympic downhill course could be auk auctioned off during the game. creditors have moved to sell the assets of the owners of the olympic ski resort and the bob sled and luge ski runs. let's hope they don't rope anything off while the events are happening. >> they're going to auction it off after the olympics is over. >> during actually. >> can't take over until the games are finished. >> right. the games are still going to

happen but the ownership could literally change hands as the events are happening down the hill. >> that will be interesting to see. the interested buyers will get a good look tat, of course, during the games. have a great day, see you tomorrow. >> you too. if you have ever watched "wednesday's child" and thought, hey, i wish i could do something to help one of those kids who you might be surprised to learn that it is a lot easier to get involved than you might think. one couple was watching and thought maybe they could help through foster care but they ended up adopting dupree, one of our now former "wednesday's kids." i recently went out to visit the new family. dupree! the last time we saw dupree was at adoption day in court back in 2008 when he was finally going home to a permanent family who, a year later, is still thrilled with the decision he made. >> my husband was watching one of your tv shows, "wednesday's

child." >> i'm telling you, i just got overwhelmed by it. >> reporter: it wasn't dupree who he saw that day on "wednesday's child," but he was inspired to do something. >> he says we have to do this. god wants us to do this. and i'm looking like, are you serious? because the last child was graduating from high school and i was thinking, let's travel, let's go somewhere. >> the last child going away, the college life, but we wanted to do something else, more personable. we said we got a room to open up for another child. >> reporter: they had just finished foster care classes when -- >> my husband calls me and says, you want to be in the house? he says yes. he says we have an emergency. what? there's a child that needs a place to stay. i was like, are you serious? today? >> when i got that call at work,

that friday morning, that was an emergency, my hard dropped, like this was it. >> reporter: but that wasn't. it was the beginning after new life for them, and dupree, who knew he was at home the minute he walk through their door. a shy little guy who regina says she only expected to spend a few days. >> he says what do i call y'all? i said, well, i'm regina, my husband is kenny. he says, well, you know what? i think i'm going to call y'all mom and dad. and i looked at my husband, i was like -- he just got here! >> i walked in and it felt like a home to me. >> reporter: from the pictures it is clear, everyone got what they wanted. they've all traveled a whole lot together, too. >> me, my mom and my father. >> reporter: and they even traveled to hanover, new hampshire where their son graduated from dartmouth, this year. back here in washington, they say dupree is ready to make his own mark on this family where 's feeling right at home.

pretty nice family, huh? how long you think you'll keep them. >> forever. >> forever. a great word for our "wednesday's children." if you have room in your home and heart for a child who's waiting, please call 1-888-2-adopt-me. or visit nbcwashington.com. 11:51. coming up, winter camping. nerd night i d.c. and the hunt is on. plus, meteorologist tom kierein will be back with another check of the forecast. stay with us, we'll be right back.

it's time to take a look ahead to the weekend scene. good to see you. >> great to be back. >> you got some really crazy things for us today. the first one has to do with getting out even on a night like tonight when it is really cold. to do what? >> there is a whole class of people who like to go out when it is winter. we call them winter warriors. some of the things they're doing when it's freezing outside include winter camping which is not done in tents. it sounds crazy but it is actually in cabins. you get to sort of snuggle around a wood burning stove, read books, just enjoy the solitude. there's also broomball, a brand-new sport that's come to

washington. there is a brandew league called d.c. broomball. the easy thing about it is that you play in sneakers instead of skates. it is a lot like hockey but almost anyone can play it. >> where can we go to find these places, these wonderful cabins. >> we do have some in our area. >> what's this nerd night? what's that? >> washington is full of nerds, obviously. there is nowhere else we're really going to embrace smartypants than here. d.c. 9, a nightclub in the district, has just started a night where people come in and they give power point presentations while are you sitting back and having a beer. they're giving powerpoint presentations on subjects like the sex life of insects or the competitive scrabble playing. >> and maybe some claglasses wia band-aid ithe middle? >> if you want to go this saturday, get there early or get your tickets in advance.

>> scavenger hunt. >> the american artuseum has been doing the scavenger hunt, it is very much like da vinci code except they are text messaging you clues. you get to roam the museum and find the answers to those clues in artwork. you start at 2:30 this saturday and have you until 6:00 to finish. can you do this with your family. all you really need to do is have a cell phone that texts. >> that sounds fantastic. some very interesng things this week. for more ideas for your weekend, logon to the around town section of nbcwaington.com for the going out guide on "washington post."com as well. let's look now at some of the stories we're following for you this afternoon. pat? >> well, we're work on several new stories coming up this afternoon on news4. first at 4:00, keeping you safe and secure in cyberspace. a warning today about internet passwords and how to prevent

yourself from being hacked. tonight a pizza taste test. domino's revamped its recipe but the question is, can it beat out pizza hut or papa john's? those storie and all the day's latest news and weather tonight on news4 at 4:00. >> thank you, pat. let's get a final update on the weather. >> we'll vin creasing clouds through the rest of the afternoon with temperatures maybe briefly touching the low 40s. a light easterly breeze as well. right now temperatures are right around 40 degrees. then tonight around 7:00, 8:00 or so moving into our southern suburbs and into the metro area by mid evening, combination of some snow and sleet, maybe a little bit of prrain and freezi rain through the rest of tonight and tomorrow morning. but the time it tapers off tomorrow afternoon, we could have an inch of snow or sleet. more snow and sleet in the shenandoah valley. all of this ending by tomorrow

afternoon. sun back on saturday. chilly mbe some moderate to heavy rain on sunday. we start early tomorrow morning, 4:30 a.m. "news4 today." an earlier start. might have school delays tomorrow. >> tom, thank you. that's "news4 midday" for today. we thank you for being with us and invite you to tune in for news4 at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00, and 11:00. tomorrow morning we will begin it hard to breathe. but now that i'm breathing better with advair... i can enjoy the zoo with my grandkids. (announcer) for people with copd including chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or both, great news. advair helps significantly improve lung function. while nothing can reverse copd, advair is different from most other medications because it contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help you breathe better.

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